Is George Santos the “Manchurian Candidate” for Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro? Forget Santos’ monstrous lies. Follow the money. Santos, who couldn’t pay his $1,800 apartment rent and whose last verified job was in a call center, somehow lent his campaign over $700,000. Supposedly, Santos started a consulting business to help Brazilian companies work with US firms. But who would pay big fees to a consultant who fled Brazil at age 19 after a felony fraud conviction?
on the January 9, 2023 edition of The Thom Hartmann Program
American GOP donors can hide their dark money in a hundred ways, through “527” fronts etc. But foreigners have, in the past, made illegal campaign contributions through “consulting” contracts (See my story “Lesser of Two Evils?“).
Bolsonaro was running at the same time as Santos. Bolsonaro, who has fled to Florida, may face extradition for his role in Sunday’s riot. Likewise, Santos surely knew that Bolsonaro could block Santos’ extradition (Santos fled Brazil before sentencing). There is also the disturbing connection between Trump operatives (Steve Bannon, Donny Jr.) and the Bolsonaro family.
I speak as someone who worked in Brazil and worked with the FBI on an investigation under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Is Santos’ inexplicable loot from Brazil? Let’s just say it smells a lot like feijoada com troco.
Greg Palast (Rolling Stone, Guardian, BBC) is the author of The New York Times bestsellers, Billionaires & Ballot Bandits and the book and documentary,
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy.
His latest film is Vigilante: Georgia's Vote Suppression Hitman
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